Manal

Manal emerged as a Buenos Aires power trio whose raw blues-rock edge set them apart from the Almendra mold. Widely acknowledged as the originators of Argentine rock, the group also receives frequent recognition for becoming the first Argentine act to deliver blues vocals in Spanish.

The band took shape in 1968 amid the vibrant gatherings at the landmark La Cueva club, its founding lineup consisting of guitarist Claudio Gabis, drummer and vocalist Javier Martínez, and bassist and vocalist Alejandro Medina. Martínez served as the frontman and chief songwriter. Drawing heavily from the contemporary British rock wave, the musicians echoed the approach of beat outfits such as The Beatles and the Animals while absorbing the high-volume, blues-rooted hard rock pioneered by Cream and American guitarist Jimi Hendrix. After cutting numerous demos that every label turned down, the trio turned to producer and confidant Jorge Alvarez. Impressed by their stage energy, Alvarez joined forces with Pedro Pujó to launch the storied Mandioca imprint, created expressly to champion locally born rock and to issue Manal’s recordings.

Mandioca put out the band’s initial singles, “Qué Pena Me Das” in 1968 and the 1969 pairing “No Pibe” b/w “Necesito Un Amor.” Sustained club and festival appearances prompted the release of the self-titled debut album in 1970, fronted by the single “Jugo De Tomate.” Both the album and single earned strong approval from live audiences and garnered extensive radio exposure, which in turn attracted RCA’s interest. Manal signed with the major and delivered El León in 1971, yet the record met a far cooler response. Although wider distribution was available, scant promotional support and a noticeably more refined production sound left listeners unmoved. Persistent touring could not mask growing internal strains. When the trio entered the studio for a projected third album, the material revealed an evolving style that blended rock with folk elements and adopted a gentler, more reflective tone. The sessions reportedly reached completion, but RCA shelved the project; mounting friction among the members soon dissolved the group. Medina and Gabis later joined the fluid roster of Billy Bond’s supergroup la Pesada.

A short-lived 1981 reunion produced the studio album Reunion and a string of well-attended shows, only for longstanding tensions between Gabis and Martínez to resurface and end the effort that same year. Radio airplay and concert demand nevertheless kept the catalog in print. A live recording of the tour, Manal en Obras, appeared in 1982.

In 1987 Martínez reassembled Manal as a five-piece lacking any other original participants. This version toured intermittently and issued two mid-nineties concert documents, Manal En Vivo in 1994 and En Vivo en el Roxy in 1995, before disbanding once more. Despite the modest body of recorded work, Manal’s place in the annals of Argentine rock remains permanent.